Mineral and Vitamin Deficiencies and Depletion--Which Matters More?
Root Cause Health and Wellness
Chances are you're reading this article because you were trying to figure out a health problem or investigate symptoms that led you down a rabbit hole. What you learned indicated you may be deficient in some vitamin, mineral, hormone, or other nutrient that may be at the root of your problems.
Congratulations on doing the homework and taking your health into your own hands. Many of you may have relied on some medical professional initially, only to find that your questions were still unanswered and symptoms unresolved.
Frustrating.
But, it may have been just the right catalyst to jump start your self-healing journey--a journey that unequivocally puts you at the helm of your own ship. You no longer need to rely on the expertise of doctors or specialists to help navigate you through your ailments. Not that you can heal absolutely everything without help or tools. You just have the opportunity to view it from that lens of permitting the assistance of others rather than accepted a disempowered prescription.
The thing is, so much in this Universe is amazingly engineered with an intelligence beyond what humankind can deeply comprehend with the brain. That includes the human body.
Everything here, from the cell turnover to nutrient absorption to reproduction to neuropathway connectivity and beyond...your body is stunningly amazing.
And designed to heal.
If you start thinking about your physical body as a way for your emotional being and energetic field to communicate with you, you may not view your symptoms as something to battle. In some views, like Germanic New Medicine, the physical symptoms and disease states we experience are in fact, the culmination of the healing process.
Not something to be healed.
When your mindset shifts here, we move from a position of victimhood to a position of collaborator.
You become the listener rather than the sufferer. The nurturer instead of the abolisher.
Your symptoms are trying to tell you what to heal in your life, not necessarily in your body.
Here's how to decipher what they're saying.
What Are Minerals?
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic substances of identifiable chemical composition found in the Earth. There are six different categories of minerals, but when we are discussing those used by the body, we're referring to the native element, or pure, forms of single minerals that can be found on the periodic table of elements, such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The other six categories of minerals are comprised of various compounds.
Minerals are one group of essential nutrients that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be obtained through consumption.
Not accidentally, those four ubiquitous macrominerals I listed are those that we examine primarily in HTMA as they drive the key ratios we use to interpret the physiology and metabolic processes in the body.
The other macrominerals found in the body are chloride, phosphorous, and sulfur, which simply aren't used in as many processes but are still vital.
Sodium, chloride, and potassium are electrolytes--they create a balance in fluids in the cells. Potassium in an intracellular mineral (inside the cell), while sodium and chloride provide the correct extracellular pressure of fluids (outside the cell).
A macromineral is required in 100mg of volume a day from the diet.
The trace minerals, like zinc, copper, cobalt, iron, selenium, chromium, and manganese, are still necessary, but in much lower amounts--less than 100mg a day, and many, like copper, in miniscule amounts like 200mcg-2mg.
What Are Vitamins?
Vitamins, as you already know, are also utilized by the body, but are in fact organic materials. Also essential nutrients like minerals, most vitamins must be obtained through the diet, with some exceptions, like one form of Vitamin D, which can be synthesized in the body via exposure to sunlight, and can also be obtained in the diet.
Our gut microbes can synthesize vitamins, like vitamin K and biotin. We can also convert certain food compounds into vitamins: beta carotene can be turned into vitamin A, and the amino acid tryptophan can be turned into niacin.
Vitamin B12 is the exception in another way too, since it isn’t naturally available from plant foods. Animal products are the only source of it, so vegans/vegetarians usually look to nutritional yeast for their B12 needs.
FUN FACT: Most animals can synthesize Vitamin C, but humans aren't one of them. We must obtain it from food sources.
There are fat-soluble and water soluble vitamins.
Fat-soluble can accumulate in tissues and therefore, may potentially become toxic at high doses. This also means that their intake can be more sporadic; take it once and any excess can be stored to be utilized when needed.
Water soluble vitamins are utilized to their need and then excess excreted. This means that their really needs to be a steady influx of daily needs taken from the diet or you can quickly become deficient.
Vitamin B12 is another exception here as it is stored longer in the liver than other water soluble vitamins.
There are 13 recognized vitamins (with choline potentially considered a 14th)
Fat Soluble Vitamins:
A, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, E, and K
Vitamin D is also considered to be a hormone in the body.
Water Soluble Vitamins:
All the B's and C
The Bs:
B1-Thiamin
B2-Riboflavin
B3-Niacin
B5-Pantothenic Acid
B6-Pyrodoxine
B7-Biotin
B9-Folate
B12-Cobalamin
Vitamin needs vary, not unlike minerals, but they are all essential for optimal bodily functions.
The tricky part, is understanding the complex interactions that vitamins have with minerals, and how their role as co-factors must be fully understood before supplementing with all the things willy-nilly.
Because of the likely deficits of obtaining vitamins from the diet, many countries add specific vitamins to staple foods as a public health measure, commonly folic acid, niacin, vitamin A, and B vitamins like B1, B2, and B12. There is an issue with this, however, as these enriched products usually contain synthetic forms of vitamins, which we'll discuss below.
What Do You Mean By "Co-Factor"?
The term "co-factor" refers to the role of a chemical or substance that is necessary to "help" another chemical or substance perform an important function.
This means, for instance, that if Zinc is a co-factor for Vitamin A, that Vitamin A cannot serve its intended function in the absence of Zinc, making their relationship synergistic.
It also means that if there is too much of a particular vitamin or mineral in the system, that its overabundance can inhibit, or antagonize, the function of its co-factor.
Here is a list of main the main synergists and antagonists among the essential nutrients:
Calcium (Ca)
Synergists: vitamins D, K, A, C; magnesium
Antagonists: zinc, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium; excess vitamin A can increase calcium loss.
Ways in which synergists are necessary for calcium to function
Vitamin D: increases intestinal calcium absorption by inducing calcium‑binding proteins and improving membrane permeability, so dietary calcium actually gets in.
Vitamin K2 (MK‑7): directs calcium into bone and teeth and away from soft tissues by activating K‑dependent proteins, which is why I use K2 in any creeping calcium or shell‑type picture.
Magnesium: enables proper use of calcium in muscle and nerve tissue and helps keep it soluble; without magnesium, calcium gets “sticky” and dysregulates contraction and nerve firing.
Vitamin A (retinol): supports calcium regulation and “decalcifying” momentum in high‑calcium patterns; I use retinol or cod liver oil alongside K2 and magnesium to help move misplaced calcium
Magnesium (Mg)
Synergists: vitamins B1, B6, C, D; calcium, potassium, zinc (context‑dependent).
Antagonists: high calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc when out of balance; toxic metals like cadmium and lead.
Ways in which synergists are necessary for magnesium to function
B1 and B6: enable magnesium entry and use in carbohydrate metabolism and calming the nervous system.
Vitamin C improves intestinal absorption of Mg when paired with meals and other minerals
Potassium: intracellular partner for ATP production and membrane potential; low K makes Mg work harder and can blunt effects.
Zinc: supports hundreds of shared enzymes; too much zinc without Mg can cramp or tighten tissue.
Calcium: needs Mg to prevent over‑contraction; Mg is the brake on Ca’s gas pedal. Increased Mg can restore neuromuscular balance by countering high Ca.
Sodium (Na)
Synergists: vitamin B6 and D support sodium handling; adrenal hormones (aldosterone) drive retention.
Antagonists: potassium is its physiological counterbalance; poor adrenal output lowers sodium retention.
Ways in which synergists are necessary for sodium to function
Potassium: counterbalances sodium across membranes; together they run the sodium‑potassium pump that moves nutrients and hormones into cells.
Magnesium, D and B6: help stabilize sodium handling by calming the stress response and improving enzyme function tied to adrenal output.
Potassium (K)
Synergists: vitamin D works with sodium to regulate fluids and blood pressure.
Antagonists: sodium balances it; excess calcium and vitamin D shifts can lower magnesium and potassium needs/utilization.
Ways in which synergists are necessary for potassium to function
Sodium: paired electrolyte for blood pressure and fluid balance; correcting one without the other rarely sticks.
Magnesium: supports Na/K pump activity and smooth muscle relaxation; inadequate Mg can keep K low in tissues.
Are Minerals or Vitamins More Important?
Most people know that vitamins are essential, but tend to overlook minerals. Afterall, we "take our vitamins" not our minerals, even if minerals are usually included in these multi-vitamin supplements.
When it comes to our physiology, it is in fact minerals that are at the heart of our cellular functions. Ever hear of the sodium-potassium pump? These two minerals are what make material exchange at the cell membrane possible. The correct balance of extracellular sodium and intracellular potassium are how the cell lets things in and out. Look to potassium for enabling energy production via ATP.
And what about calcium and magnesium? They are key players in nerve conduction and muscle contractions--even supporting the Na/K pump. Plus blood sugar balance. Bone tissue support and cell turn over.
Vitamins are absolutely necessary, but they're actually more of a supporting role to the minerals, as illustrated above in the outlined synergistic relationships. Vitamins often “turn on” reactions; minerals are the spark plugs that make them run.
So why does everyone think "vitamins" before "minerals" if minerals are in fact the necessary elements operating directly at the cellular level?
The answer is partly a generated marketing narrative and partly the speed of perceived results.
Vitamins are easy to market with simple promises like “immunity” or “energy,” and some (like B vitamins) can produce instant results.
Minerals on the other hand, work more quietly and in the background. They run thousands of enzyme reactions, balance fluids, and set your “electrical” tone, but their wins show up as steadier sleep, calmer nerves, better digestion, and stable energy over weeks and months, not minutes or even days.
Deficiency patterns differ too. We test vitamins in blood all the time, (well, probably still not as often as we should!) so they’re top of mind. Vitamin levels can be easily detected in blood, since only a few are stored in fat tissues and we don't test that.
Minerals do show up in blood, but blood seeks homeostasis. In other words, if your mineral levels become too high in blood (from either over supplementing, poor bioavailability or absorption, for instance), it will only be temporary as the excess will get pushed into body tissues.
If they're too low, your blood will draw it out of the tissues and cells, since that's where minerals are stored.
This is why tissue-based approaches like HTMA can reveal losses, imbalances, or displacement from heavy metals (we haven't really touched that topic yet!) long before a standard blood test flags a problem.
The inundation of information from so many directions today make discerning our own biospecific needs near impossible without testing, or at the very least, a strong knowledge base of how all of this works, to choose dietary needs or supplements optimally.
The truth is, there is only one universal approach to healing almost anything, or at least, improving our quality of life: Foundations move the needle most.
This means eating enough protein and calories, consuming mineral‑rich, nutrient-dense foods, getting consistent sleep, stress downshifts and mindset upshifts, optimizing digestion, and when all else fails, implementing thoughtful, multi‑mineral and vitamin support, informed by hard data.
Ultimately, vitamins may get the headlines and fanfare, but minerals are really what keep the lights on. Build your mineral base first so your vitamins can actually do their jobs.
What Are Some Signs of Nutrient Deficiencies?
Ultimately, pretty much every symptom under the sun can be ultimately attributed to some mineral balance, vitamin deficiency, or both.
Most people pursue some sort of blood or hormone testing after a run of “mystery” symptoms that point to common nutrient shortfalls.
Stress is often at the root of all depletion. And by stress, I don't necessarily mean the stressful events of life, but how you respond and the patterns that develop and become ingrained as a result.
When poor stress management strikes, whether or acute or chronic, magnesium, potassium, and sodium losses are going to be evident first.
Got immune or skin issues? Look to zinc levels.
Thyroid imbalances are almost always accompanied by low selenium, high calcium, and the associated classic vitamin gaps like B1/B6/B12 and D. On labs, these show up as off-kilter electrolyte ratios and sluggish metabolic markers rather than a single dramatic number.
People usually come in to see a profession for a league of symptoms that overlap and share too many "root causes" for any one professional to immediately identify:
fatigue that won’t lift
hair shedding
cramps or restless legs
heart palpitations
sugar/salt cravings and stubborn weight or BP issues that may accompany those cravings
dizziness on standing
constipation or diarrhea
mood swings
perimenopause symptoms suspicions
poor exercise recovery
so many more...
Nearly any developed symptom has a mineral or vitamin story attached, because these vital nutrients run the enzymes that power every system.
Let's take some basic examples, like digestive issues. If you are under chronic stress, your body will deplete sodium (among other nutrients, but let's stick with this one for now). With low sodium in the cells comes low adrenal output and low stomach acid. Low stomach acid is associated with low cobalt and B12 struggles, and with those come reflux and bloating!
What about anxiety?
Rampant today, right? Anxiety is complex and can be hardwired from a young aged, passed on ancestrally, or developed suddenly. Let's consider when it's a new development. What might anxiety feel like to someone who first notices it is manifesting? Maybe increased heart rate, palpitations, and insomnia. The deficiencies we commonly see here are with magnesium and potassium. Often, we expect too much calcium in the system to magnesium.
Suffering from hair loss? This one is a disturbing one. A few things point to the root cause, but you certainly have already been deficient for some time for hair to start falling out in clumps. What we usually find at the root of this symptom is high tissue calcium with low magnesium and low zinc/selenium patterns. Expect that the thyroid may be out of whack enough to be finally showing up in blood tests, though sometimes, that isn't the case!
Essentially, sometimes thyroid blood panels look fine despite clear hypothyroid symptoms because of the very issue at the start of thyroid imbalance: too high calcium blocks thyroid from getting into the cells, BUT the thyroid hormone is still in normal circulating amounts in the blood! Make sense?
Fixing digestion and electrolytes improves protein breakdown and iron handling
Anxiety with palpitations and poor sleep: low magnesium and potassium, sometimes a high calcium-to-magnesium ratio; restoring Mg and K calms nerve firing and steadies heart rhythm. balancing Ca/Mg and supporting zinc/selenium improves thyroid hormone action and hair growth potential.
Lots of people who get their bloodwork done frequently may have concerning metabolic markers or blood sugar issues. Maybe they're just experiencing what they understand to be "crashes". Or that loopy "tired, but wired" feeling that many moms-of-young-babes can easily identify with.
What do we see here? A layered issued usually, but calcium and magnesium imbalances point to blood sugar issues. Too much Ca, too little Mg. Often too little sodium to higher potassium amounts to a burned out stress response, and ultimately poor glucose intolerance. This is one where the B vitamins come into play as co-factors to the four main minerals to improve metabolic stability. If you're stressed out, not sleeping, probably not eating well, probably drinking too much coffee and eating too much sugar, is it any wonder you're in a loop?
This pattern of imbalance has to be broken with an intentional intervention of nutrients both through diet and usually, supplementally. Unless you're a super star when it comes to nutritional adherence, (let's face it--if you're this strung out, you probably need a little assistance in the compliance department), nutrient supplementing for at least a short time can pull you back into balance more quickly..
Or maybe you suffer from heavy periods or a deep fatigue that no amount of coffee can cure? Expect low iron stores at the root, which can coexist with copper imbalance or lead exposure. This where mineral balance gets super complicated and going it alone may not only confuse you more, but lead you to just "try" adding something like iron in without knowing what's actually going on in your body.
I know the thing that took me down a rabbit hole was a belief that I was in perimenopause at age 40. This one is interesting to me personally, because I had a host of symptoms, but the one that I found most bizarre and fixated on the most was a noticeable change in my 28-day cycle. For the first time since I was 12 years old and after two kids, my period was getting shorter and shorter. At times it was 18 days before my next period.
Add to that, horrible back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, not sleeping for a solid 5 years, irritability, depression. I didn't have any "illnesses" to speak of. No colds, no flu, not even COVID. Just pain and a notable change in my mood and life outlook. I hypothesized at the time that progesterone was somehow at play with both my pain and my cycle change...perimenopause?
I got a DUTCH test done to find that I was right---my progesterone to estrogen ratio was too low. But....why? I didn't know then but I know now: the hormone imbalance was caused by a copper and zinc imbalance.
That imbalance was only secondary to having no gas left in the tank. ALL my main minerals were depleted. With that, copper wasn't being utilized (this gave me premature grey hair too by the way!), and since copper has a relationship to estrogen in the body, (as zinc does with progesterone) the hormones in my body were now imbalanced.
At the time, I didn't know this, so I ordered myself some progesterone cream and slapped it on for almost 5 years. It totally worked! However, I would have had to stay on it forever if I didn't address the root imbalances of replenishing my main minerals.
Why Blanket Supplementing Without Testing Can Backfire
I hear and see this a lot:
I take a great multi-vitamin blend, shouldn't that be enough?
Or
If I have symptoms of low magnesium, why can't I just take a magnesium supplement and see what happens?
Or
I eat a well-balanced, "healthy" diet. I don't think I need vitamins or minerals at all. Do I?
Let's take these one at a time.
Average multis bundle iron and copper, or high-dose D when many people don’t need even need them or in fact, could be harmed by excess. Doing this can aggravate already high calcium, or a copper imbalance (you may have signs of this but without testing we don't know if your copper is stuck and stored in tissue not being used or too high and floating all around.
In either case, the main minerals need to be balanced first.
Another issue that multi's create and no one talks about: Nutrients compete.
A multi can overemphasize some (zinc, calcium, D) and quietly drain others (magnesium, potassium, copper balance), shifting mineral ratios in the wrong direction.
The included doses in one to four pills that you commonly see is rarely therapeutic and really intended to be a "catch-all". Sprinkled amounts of many nutrients seldom reach effective ranges, but can still create imbalance if they push the wrong levers for your metabolic type.
When you get your minerals tested and know what you're working with, you can create targeted bases or at least select the right multi‑mineral support for your pattern needs.
Bio-individuality matters. A catch‑all multi ignores your digestion needs, current stress state (which, when dialed in, points to what is depleted), and elimination capacity (kidney, liver and bile function), which are what actually determine what you nutrients can use and tolerate.
Why Can't I Take One Vitamin or Mineral If I Think It's The One I Need?
Push one vitamin too hard without its mineral partners and you can create new imbalances.
For example, we hear all the time how we are collectively low in vitamin D as a population. Many people, (myself included!) might take supplemental vitamin D in the winter time to counter the loss of sunlight.
Or perhaps you have indeed had your levels tested, you came up short, and naturally, started supplementing with high doses of D2 or D3.
Here's the problem: high vitamin D supplementation raises calcium demand and can drain magnesium and potassium if they’re not supported.
Trust me. I would have argued like the Dickens before I knew what I know now that EVERYONE should be taking vitamin D in low sunlight months. Now that I understand more, I know that we cannot make such blanket recommendations.
My vitamin D levels were 24 when tested in October after a summer gardening for hours a day with no sunblock.
How?? I couldn't understand it.
Until I tested my minerals and learned more: I was in a Four Low's Pattern. This means my four main macrominerals were way below optimal. It's honestly amazing I wasn't far worse off.
I had almost zero mineral stores. Which explained why I had no D in my system. Without sufficient Mg to start with, my body couldn't synthesize this hormone/vitamin. And if I started supplementing with vitamin D without restoring my minerals first, I would never dig myself out, as the D would continue to deplete my Mg and K.
See how tricky that gets?
The more prudent approach positioned for long-term health restoration and balance is to stabilize the four main minerals first and then vitamins tend to work better and do their jobs properly.
Here's another popular naturopathic habit: High dose vitamin C when you're under the weather.
There is actually not a problem at all doing this in the short term unless you're super copper toxic and then may create a herxing reaction as copper gets pulled and dumped back into the tissues. (A story for another day!).
However, it should only ever be short-term and when truly needed. Long-term high vitamin C intake can antagonize copper (which we absolutely need in trace amounts) and potentially shift the iron/copper and zinc/copper balance, changing how these four behave downstream.
When it comes with one-size-fits-all supplementation protocols, the likelihood is that no good will come at best, and harm could be caused at worst. This is why we "test, and don't guess" when it comes to nutrient deficiencies!
Two truths guide the protocols I create for myself, my family, and my personal clients: mineral relationships matter more than single numbers, and long-latency deficiencies drive chronic disease patterns if they’re missed early.
Unfortunately, by the time most people get to me they're already battling some mystery illness, chronic issue, or unsettling diagnosis that has unresolved symptoms that lower the quality of life.
No matter what the physical issue, if we start by stabilizing the main minerals: calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium, then layer targeted vitamins so the enzymes can actually run and do their jobs, our bodies will have a fighting chance to do what they have all be perfectly designed to do: Heal.
What About Synthetic Vs. Natural Forms of Vitamins?
Form really does matter when it comes to bioavailability.
Generally you can expect that a food-derived, or natural source, of a nutrient comes with all of its buddies that help it work properly (those cofactors!).
Cofactors and bioflavonoids improve absorption and steer where the nutrient goes.
Synthetic isolates can lack those partners and more easily create antagonisms, like high ascorbic acid pulling on copper (which we never want to do quickly) or high Vitamin D pushing calcium, while draining magnesium and potassium.
When it comes to minerals, they need the right carrier. Amino‑acid chelates and food forms are typically better tolerated and utilized than cheap oxides or carbonates (the forms you typically see in fortified foods or cheap supplements), which can irritate the gut or skew ratios without real uptake. The nutrients are no good to you floating around your bloodstream.
In folks who exhibit slow oxidation patterns, or a lowered metabolic rate, carbonate‑fortified products can aggravate an excess of unusable calcium in the tissues.
Similarly, for someone with too little sodium and too much relative potassium, a single high‑dose zinc can drive sodium even lower.
We haven't even begun to discuss the possibility of having a methylation SNP like MTHFR, creating a host of issues supplementing with synthetic forms of vitamin B. Taking that even further, someone with a COMT mutation may react to having the most bioavailable forms of vitamin B that we thought they needed in the first place!
Bottom line: choose forms of vitamins and minerals that your physiology can absorb and use, delivered with their natural synergists. Best case scenario, you are armed with your mineral data and can match your nutrients to your predominant HTMA pattern and avoid creating new imbalances.
Some basic guidelines you can follow:
Vitamin Supplements
Choose: whole‑food vitamin C (camu, acerola), retinol A from cod liver oil or food with K2, balanced B‑complex matched to your stress state (you will need guidance and data to identify your stress state: Chronic or Acute? Sympathetic or Parasympathethic Dominant?)
Be cautious with: gram‑level ascorbic acid, high‑dose D without magnesium, and make sure K2 is on board.
Mineral Supplements
Choose: amino‑acid chelates or gentle forms your gut can use (magnesium glycinate/taurate/malate; calcium citrate/malate; zinc picolinate or full‑spectrum chelates).
Be cautious with: cheap oxides/carbonates that irritate the gut or skew ratios; one‑size multis that include iron or copper you may not need.
Practical rules
Food first. The more nutrient dense and varied your diet, the higher the likelihood you will get everything you need (digestive and absorption issues notwithstanding)
Use a quality multi‑mineral and magnesium as your base; add vitamins that fit your pattern, not a generic multi.
Dose modestly, titrate (increase dosage) slowly, and watch for signals like sleep, cramps, heart rhythm, stool, and energy.
Test, don’t guess! Tissue patterns (identified via HTMA) guide mineral balance; bloodwork can guide targeted vitamins like D or B12.
Food Sources Vs. Supplemental Sources of Vitamins And Minerals
Food sources of nutrients are superior, but sometimes we need to supplement (most times with guidance). Learning the different forms and sources of these nutrients is a great first step in recognizing quality ingredients.
Ascorbic Acid: This most common synthetic form of vitamin C in its pure, acidic form. It is perfectly bioavailable and acceptable for daily use to meet minimum RDA requirements, but may cause GI distress when taken in high doses.
Sodium Ascorbate: Also a synthetic form of Vitamin C is that is buffered and non-acidic, ideal for those with sensitive stomachs. Since it contains sodium, this should be taken into consideration for those on low-sodium diets.
Food-Based Supplements: Camu camu and acerola cherries are common forms of food-based vitamin C. They are not more bioavailable than the synthetic forms of vitamin C, but are the preferred choice when an individual is detoxing from mold/mycotoxins or has oxalate tolerance issues. Accessible options
Food Sources:
Guava: Contains about 125mg of per piece
Acerola Cherries: A half cup provides around 1650 mg
Chili Peppers: A green chili pepper contains about 109 mg
Red and green bell peppers: Raw red bell peppers have about 128 mg per 100g
Yellow bell peppers have 183 mg per 100g.
Strawberries: One cup of strawberries has around 119mg
Kiwi fruit: A medium kiwi has about 64mg
Oranges: A medium orange contains about 70mg
Broccoli: Has about 90 mg of vitamin C per 100g
Kale: Has about 120 mg of vitamin C per 100g
Brussels Sprouts: One cup of fresh sprouts can provide over 100mg
Rose Hips: contains about 426mg per 100g
When it comes to supplemental Vitamin C, sodium ascorbate is most gentle on the stomach and digestive system in high doses making it the ideal form of vitamin C when boosting the immune system and fighting off illness.
The short answer is that this water soluble vitamin can be taken in abundance to GI tolerance. Meaning you can take as much as you can tolerate without getting diarrhea. That amounts to servings starting at about 500mg every two hours for adults and 200 mg every two hours for children aged 2 to 12. The recommended daily value (RDA) of vitamin C ranges from 15mg to 120mg for everyone from babies to lactating mothers. However, this is the minimum of what someone should obtain on a good day. When you're under the weather and your immune system will blaze through the Vitamin C stores in the body more quickly. Anything your body doesn't need will be excreted. It's important to note that you should only dose this high while you are not feeling well and not permanently.
Choose a highly bioavailable form of zinc when supplementing to ensure your cells are able to properly utilize the mineral. The chelation process involves a chemically bonding a mineral ion to an organic molecule, such as an amino acid, making it easier on the digestive system and improving absorption.
Zinc diglycinate: A chelated form is bound to amino acids, which helps with absorption. It has shown the highest bioavailability in some studies.
Zinc picolinate: Zinc bound with picolinic acid, which is found naturally in the body. Demonstrates high absorption and easy on digestion.
Zinc citrate: Also highly bioavailable and gentle on the stomach.
Zinc gluconate: Often used in lozenges, it is well absorbed, though some studies suggest other chelated forms may be even better absorbed. This is a great option for children who won't swallow tablets.
Forms of Zinc with low bioavailability
Zinc oxide: This inorganic form is commonly found in supplements but has significantly lower absorption compared to organic forms listed above.
Zinc sulfate: This form has shown the lowest bioavailability.
For zinc, prioritize animal sources first because they’re richest and best absorbed, while plant sources can be limited by phytates that block absorption.
Top zinc foods
Oysters and other shellfish
Beef, lamb, bison, dark turkey meat
Liver in small amounts (also contains copper, so use contextually)
Eggs and dairy if tolerated
Good plant options (balance with protein and digestion support)
Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, sesame/tahini
Cashews, almonds
Chickpeas, lentils, black beans (soak/sprout to lower phytates)
Cacao/dark chocolate
Remember, too much zinc can push sodium lower.
Calcium
Best foods: dairy, sardines with bones, bone‑in salmon, collards, broccoli.
Supplements: citrate or malate; in calcium‑shell patterns I favor K2/A/Mg over adding Ca.
Magnesium
Best foods: leafy greens, (especially spinach), cacao, nuts/seeds (especially pumpkin), legumes (esp black beans and edamame), avocado.
Supplements: citrate, glycinate, taurate, malate. There are many more forms and many touted for various and specific functions. Chloride baths or topical sprays deliver transdermal magnesium when digestion is compromised (Epsom salts--magnesium sulfate form--are not as absorptive as magnesium chloride).
Sodium
Best foods: mineral‑rich salts, broths, fermented veggies.
Supplements: electrolyte mixes or sole water
Do not blanketly avoid sodium out of fear of high blood pressure. Salt needs are just as biospecific as everything else. Some folks need more not less!
Potassium
Best foods: cooked greens, potatoes/sweet potatoes with the skins on, avocado, coconut water, white beans, squash, bananas.
Supplements: food first! if used, very small titrations only. Cream of tartar can be added to orange juice and coconut water for an adrenal cocktail.
Selenium
Best foods: oysters, shrimp, cod, organ meats, Brazil nuts (variable, but 1-2 Brazil nuts can provide your daily RDA of selenium).
Supplements: selenomethionine or yeast‑bound selenium.
Iodine
Best foods: sea vegetables (kelp, dulse), dairy, eggs, seafood.
Supplements: low‑dose kelp or potassium iodide only when indicated and with selenium on board.
Copper
Best foods: oysters, shellfish, dark chocolate, shiitake, sesame/tahini, cashews, soy/tempeh.
Supplements: generally avoid standalone unless clearly indicated; manage via food and liver/adrenal support. **Copper should never be supplemented without supervision yet it is in many multi-blends!
Iron
Best foods: red meat, liver, shellfish.
Supplements: only with a full iron panel! Gentle forms like bisglycinate or heme iron.
Boron, manganese, molybdenum, chromium
Best foods: boron in prunes/dates; manganese in mussels, nuts, whole grains; molybdenum in legumes; chromium in shellfish, organ meats.
Supplements: usually via a multi‑min; avoid high‑dose singles.
Vitamin A (retinol)
Best foods: liver (small, infrequent servings), egg yolks, full‑fat dairy, cod liver oil.
Supplements: retinol (not beta‑carotene); cod liver oil with K2.
Vitamin D
Best foods: fatty fish (salmon, sardines), cod liver oil, pastured egg yolks; sun exposure when appropriate.
Supplements: D3 (cholecalciferol); pair with magnesium and K2.
Vitamin K2
Best foods: natto (MK‑7), aged cheeses and butter from grass‑fed animals (MK‑4/MK‑7), egg yolks.
Supplements: MK‑7 for steady serum, MK‑4 for tissues; often use both.
Vitamin B1 (thiamin)
Best foods: pork, legumes, potatoes, sunflower seeds.
Supplements: thiamine HCl or benfotiamine (fat‑soluble).
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Best foods: dairy, eggs, liver, almonds.
Supplements: riboflavin‑5‑phosphate.
Vitamin B6
Best foods: poultry, potatoes, bananas.
Supplements: P5P (pyridoxal‑5‑phosphate).
Folate
Best foods: liver, dark leafy greens, legumes, asparagus.
Supplements: methylfolate (5‑MTHF) or folinic acid as tolerated.
*Note that some people with a COMT mutation cannot take methylated Bs.
Vitamin B12
Best foods: clams, liver, beef, sardines, eggs, dairy.
Supplements: methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin; hydroxocobalamin for sensitive clients.
Vitamin E
Best foods: extra‑virgin olive oil, avocado, almonds, sunflower seeds.
Supplements: mixed tocopherols with some tocotrienols (avoid dl‑alpha only).
The Take-Home On Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies
If you take away anything from this article it should be this: Nutrient deficiencies and replenishment is complex business. Guessing games rarely succeed.
It's difficult for anyone who is knowledgeable, educated, and experienced to hone in on exactly what their own physiological needs are without testing first. If you are seeking your own answers and healing path, sometimes a little guidance goes a long way.
There are too many variables, too much overlap, and even more solutions that could be attempted (and result in miserable failures).
This essentially encapsulates what I see happen with most of my clients:
They sought guidance that failed them. Took advice or researched what appeared to be reputable sources or consulted a guru, only to find that the solutions didn't stick, yet they stuck to the program long after it failed.
Ask yourself this if you have been struggling with some health issue, symptom, syndrome, disease: Have you examined all of the elements of your lifestyle with scrutiny and questioned everything you thought, believed, or told was healthy?
Did you start taking magnesium for sleep over a year ago, but your sleep never improved, and yet you're still taking that same form of magnesium?
Do you eat a "healthy" vegetarian diet but struggle with digestion, fatigue, and hormonal imbalances?
Maybe you got on the carnivore train but not "fully", yet tell yourself you're eating carnivore when really, you're just avoiding bread?
Perhaps you were battling anxiety and depression, finally caved and started taking a medication, but then other symptoms arose, and now you're taking even more medications, but you don't feel awesome, just less anxious?
Or worse, you faced your mortality or at least felt like you did, only to be told that all the labs and tests check out and it's probably just all in your head, so now you have tried everything under the sun (including looking into the sun!)--every supplement, every diet, every alternative health specialist--and you still haven't restored your health.
I have to ask now---how much of what you tried or was suggested addressed the fundamentals of what is going on in your body?
WHY did you suddenly develop uterine fibroids?
WHY are you experience debilitating heart palpitations and tachycardia?
WHY is your digestion now totally off when it was always fine in the past?
HTMA gets to the root of these questions with the absolute basics.
Am I suggesting that HTMA can solve everything, reverse all disease, and restore your health completely? No, not exactly.
But I am saying that it would be really hard to totally heal if the foundations aren't repaired. Often more testing is called for, but this one is the most fundamental.
Imagine if your basement flooded because the foundation wasn't sealed properly but the contractor just suggests a French drain around the house because, well, that's easier to do and will reduce the symptoms?
Or, if your engine oil burned out and you thought you could keep the car running with some extra gas?
The body isn't much different fundamentally. There are complexities untold, but we can't alter the basics: Cells function with a sodium-potassium balance. Neurons fire with properly calcium, and muscles function with access to abundant magnesium. I'm oversimplifying to a degree but not by much!
With the guidance provided by HTMA you don't have to wonder what your body really needs. Bloodwork can always provide additional insights, but it can't tell you the mineral status or the heavy metal burden in your cells. Blood is not the same.
If you're ready to find out exactly what's going on in your body, which nutrients are depleted, what ratios are off, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis can provide the answers you're searching more.
